Divine Utterances

by Lynne Hammond | Articles, Christian Living

Turning Points of History
A few years ago, the U.S. News and World Report magazine featured an article about the apostle Paul and the turning points of history. The author said, “The true watersheds of human events are seldom spotted midst the tumult of headlines, broadcasts on the hour.”

He explained that the true turning points of history often go unnoticed and are seldom identified as anything significant when they happen. For example, Paul’s missionary journeys probably never made the headlines, and yet his second journey was a turning point, a watershed, in the history of the world.

About that second journey, it says in Acts 16, that Paul and Silas “had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.” After being forbidden to go into Asia, they went down to a place called Troas. At Troas Paul had a vision from God of a man from Macedonia pleading “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

The author said, “So Paul crossed the Aegean sea. The fate of the whole European continent was determined by that one move, because the Gospel went into what is now modern-day Europe and then to America rather than to the Asian world. The crossing of the Aegean Sea was the most strategic journey by far than any other in history that I know of. More influential than anything that Alexander the Great did, Lewis and Clark, Columbus or Marco Polo….”

Paul’s crossing of the Aegean Sea was, indeed, a crucial turning point in history. I don’t disagree, but I would like to point out something significant. It was the “word of the Lord” forbidding Paul to go into Asia and directing him to go into Macedonia that set in motion Paul’s course of action. A more precise statement would be that it was the word of the Lord that determined the destiny of the world.

We, like the apostle Paul, are living in a time in history that is very strategic to the plan of God – a turning point. Few people would disagree with me that we are that generation that will usher in the Second Coming of Christ. Consequently, what we do and especially say is critical to the plan of God.

Therefore, I want to talk about the word of the Lord spoken out by men and women of God standing in their office. When the five-fold ministry gifts speak under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, their words are very powerful and are able to change and shape the destiny of the world. I believe God wants us to understand this very important spiritual truth. And, brothers and sisters, it is critical to the plan of God that we do!

When Reinhardt Bonkke, missionary to Africa, understood this truth, it impacted him so much that he said it changed his entire life and ministry. He said, “I was just a regular missionary until one day the Lord spoke to me and said, ‘My word in your mouth is as powerful as My word in My mouth.'”

The Lord spoke the same thing to Jeremiah the prophet saying, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jer. 1:9-10).

God’s words in Jeremiah’s mouth affected the outcome of nations! Isn’t that staggering? Are you beginning to understand the importance of the five-fold ministry offices standing in their place and speaking out the word of God?

When those who stand in the offices of apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist speak by the inspiration of God, their words have the potential to be a turning point in their church, their city, their state, their nation, and even the world.

Sometimes I think the enemy knows better than many Christians the effect and power that divine utterances from God can have. Satan knows that if he can stop a Christian from speaking forth the word of the Lord, he can stop the plan of God. That’s why there is such opposition from the enemy concerning divine utterances.

A Natural Example of a Spiritual Truth
To help you better understand, I’ll give you a natural example of this spiritual truth. For instance, if I, myself, were to speak about the U.S. economy, my words would have little to no effect on the U.S. economy. They would only have an affect on my own economy.

But when Alan Greenspan, who is the head of the United States Federal Reserve, speaks out about the U.S. economy, it has a tremendous effect on the U.S. economy. And furthermore because the U.S. economy affects the world’s economy, his words have an effect on the economy of the world! Do you know why his words are that powerful? Because of the office he stands in.

John the Baptist Speaks Divine Utterance
John the Baptist is an excellent example of how powerful and far-reaching God’s words spoken through a man standing in his office can be. In the Gospel of Luke, we read how the word of the Lord came to John and he began to preach a message of repentance.

He said to the multitude that came to be baptized by him, in Luke 3:7-9, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

When he was done with his message, thousands of the common people thronged him and asked, “What do we do?” Even the tax collectors and the soldiers asked John what they must do to get right with God. And in Matthew’s account, we read how the Pharisees and Sadducees came to hear John’s preaching so we know the religious leaders were affected by his words as well.

In this example, we see how one man – just one man – anointed by God, speaking forth His words, affected the multitudes of common people, government officials, the military, and religious leaders – all aspects of society. Because John accessed and spoke out of his prophetic office, people were changed, a nation was changed, and ultimately, the world was changed.

Accessing Your Five-Fold Office
If you are called to a five-fold ministry office, it’s important that you know how to access the anointing on that office. To that end, I want to show you three things from the Word of God.

1. Divine Utterance Is Granted by God
The first thing we need to understand about divine utterance is that God has to grant it. It’s not something we can muster up in our own ability. Even the apostle Paul knew this. In his letter to the Ephesians (6:19), he requested the church to pray for him “that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel….’ He prayed that God would give him divine utterance to speak under the inspiration of God and to speak it out boldly. Like Paul, we too must pray for divine utterance.

2. Praying in Other Tongues
Second, in John chapter seven Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Of course, we know that Jesus was speaking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. When you start communing with God in other tongues, rivers of living water come forth. Living water is a reference to the anointing of God. And one of the ingredients to the anointing is “words.” Spoken words.

I’ll give you an excellent example of how words are a part of the anointing. Before David took on Goliath, the prophet Samuel had just anointed him to be king of Israel. When David took food to his brothers on the battlefield and saw Goliath taunting the armies of Israel, something began to stir in him. That stirring was God’s anointing. What did that stirring result in? It resulted in Words. Words of intent and victory popped out of his mouth.

A slingshot and stones were not the beginning of Goliath’s defeat. The beginning of Goliath’s defeat was words spoken out of David’s mouth, freshly anointed as king.

Praying in the Holy Ghost in other tongues will stir up the anointing of God in you. When that anointing is stirred, words will pop out of your mouth just like they popped out of David’s.

3. Supernatural Relationships
The third way you can access your ministry office is how Saul, king of Israel, accessed his office as king. In 1 Samuel 10:1, we read that Samuel anointed Saul as king: “Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that Jehovah hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance?” (ASV).

After Saul is anointed to be king, Samuel then tells him how to access his office. In 1 Samuel 10:5-6, he tells Saul: “…thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass…that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place…and they will be prophesying: and the Spirit of Jehovah will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man” (ASV).

When Saul joined the band of prophets, that’s when the anointing of God came upon him and he was changed into another man. The change was so dramatic that people said, “What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” People who knew him barely recognized him.

When did the anointing come upon Saul? It came upon him when he associated himself with the band of prophets. Saul received the anointing of God that was on them. It didn’t fall on him from heaven. It was transferred to him through the prophets. Transference is the key!

In the body of Christ, there is such a thing as supernatural relationships through which supernatural impartations are given. When you spend quality time with people who you are supernaturally connected to, a transference from them to you takes place. There is the potential of impartations and inspiration to be gained from fellowshipping with your fellow ministers.

One time, a fellow minister and I were talking about this very subject. He said, “The Lord told me one time that there were some things that I would never get unless I got it from someone else through a supernatural relationship.”

Ministers Need to Gather Together
I see a contradiction among ministers. They encourage congregations not to “forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” They hammer home the importance of gathering together with the saints, that strength and encouragement will come from spending time with their company of believers.

But I’m seeing an attitude among preachers that they don’t think it’s so important that they come together for fellowship. Sometimes ministers think, “It’s just me and Jesus.” If you think that way, you are flat wrong. We need the impartation and inspiration that is to be gained through supernatural relationships.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I remember hearing Brother Hagin say, “There’s a difference between a man standing in his office and a man sitting in his office.” Standing signifies that you go in and out of that office, whereas sitting is indicative of your never leaving your office.

And as I said before, we are at a turning point in history, a time that is strategic to the plan of God. It’s time, fellow ministers, that we begin to “sit” in our place of office. Don’t you agree?

On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”

Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!

What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.

A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”

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